Cognitive approach explaining depression

Question 1

Cognitive approach

Answer 1

focused on mental processes affecting our behaviour

Question 2

Negative triad

Answer 2

Beck proposed that bthre are three kinds of negative thinking that contribute to become depressed: negative views of the world, the future and the self
- lead to a person to interpret their experienced in a negative way and so make them more vulnerable to depression

Question 3

ABC model

Answer 3

Ellis proposed that depression occurs when and activating event (A) triggers an irrational belief (B) which in turn produces a consequence (C)

Question 4

Becks’ negative triad

Answer 4

• Faulty information processing
• Negative self-schemas
• The negative triad

Question 5

Faulty information processing

Answer 5

attending to the negative aspects of a situation and ignoring the positives
also tend to blow small problems out of proportion and think in black and white terms

Question 6

Negative self-schema

Answer 6

• a schema is a ‘package’ of ideas and information developed through experience act as a mental framework for the interpretation of sensory information.
• A self-schema is the package of information we have about ourselves.
• We use schemas to interpret the world, so if we have a negative self-schema we interpret all information about ourselves in a negative way.

Question 7

The negative triad - types

Answer 7

negative views of the world
negative view of the future
negative view of the self

Question 8

Ellis’s ABC model

Answer 8

• proposed that good mental health is the result of rational thinking defined as thinking in ways that allow people to be happy and free of pain
• use the ABC model to explain how irrational thoughts affect our behaviour and emotional state

Activating event - negative events trigger irrational beliefs

Beliefs - irrational beliefs such as need for perfection, success, fairness

Consequences - emotional and behavioural consequences of irrational beliefs

Question 9

What are the two types of irrational thoughts ?

Answer 9

• perfection (masturbation)
• utopianism

Question 10

Strength of the cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck

Answer 10

P: it has practical applications.
E: The theory has had led to the development of CBT which challenges irrational theory and Lipsky et al. found that it reduced depression.
E: This supports the theory because it supports that irrational thoughts are a cause of depression as depression would not reduce with CBT if they were not involved.
L:msuccessful treatments could not have been developed based on an incorrect theory, this gives us confidence in the reliability of Beck’s cognitive theory of depression.

Question 11

Limitation of the cognitive approach to explaining depression - Beck

Answer 11

P: does not explain all aspects of depression
E: The theory neatly explains basic symptoms, however, some depressed patients are deeply angry or experience hallucination which is not explained by the theory
E: does not explain all aspects of depression.
L: is a limited explanation

Question 12

Strength of the cognitive approach to explaining depression- Ellis

Answer 12

strength: real world application

• his approach to cognitive therapy- rational emotive behaviour therapy
• vigoursly arguing with a depressed persom the therapist alter irrational beliefs

REBT can change negative beliefs and relieve symptoms

Question 13

Limitation of the cognitive approach to explaining depression- Ellis

Answer 13

limitation: only explains reactive depression and not endogenous depression

it doesn’t easily explain the anger associated with depression or the fact that some patients suffer hallucinations and delusions